2 Chronicles 26

• 1. Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
• 2. He was the one who rebuilt Elath and restored it to Judah after Amaziah rested with his fathers.
• 3. Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother's name was Jecoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
• 4. He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his father Amaziah had done.
• 5. He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success.
• 6. He went to war against the Philistines and broke down the walls of Gath, Jabneh and Ashdod. He then rebuilt towns near Ashdod and elsewhere among the Philistines.
• 7. God helped him against the Philistines and against the Arabs who lived in Gur Baal and against the Meunites.
• 8. The Ammonites brought tribute to Uzziah, and his fame spread as far as the border of Egypt, because he had become very powerful.
• 9. Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate, at the Valley Gate and at the angle of the wall, and he fortified them.
• 10. He also built towers in the desert and dug many cisterns, because he had much livestock in the foothills and in the plain. He had people working his fields and vineyards in the hills and in the fertile lands, for he loved the soil.
• 11. Uzziah had a well-trained army, ready to go out by divisions according to their numbers as mustered by Jeiel the secretary and Maaseiah the officer under the direction of Hananiah, one of the royal officials.
• 12. The total number of family leaders over the fighting men was 2,600.
• 13. Under their command was an army of 307,500 men trained for war, a powerful force to support the king against his enemies.
• 14. Uzziah provided shields, spears, helmets, coats of armor, bows and slingstones for the entire army.
• 15. In Jerusalem he made machines designed by skillful men for use on the towers and on the corner defenses to shoot arrows and hurl large stones. His fame spread far and wide, for he was greatly helped until he became powerful.
• 16. But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
• 17. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in.
• 18. They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God."
• 19. Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
• 20. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him.
• 21. King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house -leprous, and excluded from the temple of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
• 22. The other events of Uzziah's reign, from beginning to end, are recorded by the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.
• 23. Uzziah rested with his fathers and was buried near them in a field for burial that belonged to the kings, for people said, "He had leprosy." And Jotham his son succeeded him as king.

Revelation 13

• 1. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
• 2. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. He had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on his horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.
• 3. One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was astonished and followed the beast.
• 4. Men worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, "Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him?"
• 5. The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise his authority for forty-two months.
• 6. He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven.
• 7. He was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation.
• 8. All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast--all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.
• 9. He who has an ear, let him hear.
• 10. If anyone is to go into captivity, into captivity he will go. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, with the sword he will be killed. This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.
• 11. Then I saw another beast, coming out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he spoke like a dragon.
• 12. He exercised all the authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose fatal wound had been healed.
• 13. And he performed great and miraculous signs, even causing fire to come down from heaven to earth in full view of men.
• 14. Because of the signs he was given power to do on behalf of the first beast, he deceived the inhabitants of the earth. He ordered them to set up an image in honor of the beast who was wounded by the sword and yet lived.
• 15. He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed.
• 16. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,
• 17. so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.
• 18. This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666.

Zechariah 9

• 1. The word of the LORD is against the land of Hadrach and will rest upon Damascus- for the eyes of men and all the tribes of Israel are on the LORD -
• 2. and upon Hamath too, which borders on it, and upon Tyre and Sidon, though they are very skillful.
• 3. Tyre has built herself a stronghold; she has heaped up silver like dust, and gold like the dirt of the streets.
• 4. But the Lord will take away her possessions and destroy her power on the sea, and she will be consumed by fire.
• 5. Ashkelon will see it and fear; Gaza will writhe in agony, and Ekron too, for her hope will wither. Gaza will lose her king and Ashkelon will be deserted.
• 6. Foreigners will occupy Ashdod, and I will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
• 7. I will take the blood from their mouths, the forbidden food from between their teeth. Those who are left will belong to our God and become leaders in Judah, and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.
• 8. But I will defend my house against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch.
• 9. Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
• 10. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
• 11. As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
• 12. Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.
• 13. I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you like a warrior's sword.
• 14. Then the LORD will appear over them; his arrow will flash like lightning. The Sovereign LORD will sound the trumpet; he will march in the storms of the south,
• 15. and the LORD Almighty will shield them. They will destroy and overcome with slingstones. They will drink and roar as with wine; they will be full like a bowl used for sprinkling the corners of the altar.
• 16. The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.
• 17. How attractive and beautiful they will be! Grain will make the young men thrive, and new wine the young women.

New International Version

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